Til Death Do Us Part
by Silent Angel of Time
Summary: Just days after they were married Nathan promised he would always protect Haley, but what happens when he realizes that he can't protect Haley when it comes to a battle for her life?
1. Chapter 1

'Til Death Do Us Part  
Chaper One

* * *

"Okay," Hailey whispers. "Yeah, this afternoon, no I understand, these things happen." As soon as she hangs up the phone Hailey sinks to the floor, to stunned to react appropriately to the phone call she'd just received. Pulling her knees to her chests Hailey rests her forehead there forcing herself to take long deep breaths like she'd trained herself to do so long. The breathing exercise doesn't work and the silence in the apartment Hailey shares with Nathan becomes stifling. Standing up Hailey shifts through Nathan's CDs until she finds one of hers and slips Wilco into the CD player hoping that music will calm her nerves enough to take some sort of action.

You

Always wanted more time to do

What you

Always wanted to do

Within first couple of lines of the song though Hailey realizes that she's made the wrong choice in songs and quickly wrenches open the CD player. Violently throwing the CD across the small apartment's living room it hits the wall besides the door just as Lucas pushes the door open and Hailey crumbles to the floor.

"Hailes, unless I'm mistaken that's your CD's not Nathan's," Lucas attempts to make a joke and in the back of her mind Hailey knows that he must've been sent on a peace keeping mission. Quickly Lucas crosses to her and wraps his arms around Hailey, pulling her tightly to him, "it'll be okay Hailes."

"It's not going to be okay," Hailey responds through her tears. "I need to leave here."

Lucas' expression is serious when he looks down at Hailey, "no, you have to stay here and work things out with Nathan."

Hailey shakes her head, "I can't...I have to go..."

"Hailes..." Lucas begins.

"Luke shut up," Hailey begs, "I have to go to the hospital."

"Why? What happened? Is it your parents?"

"Luke my..."

"No," Lucas shakes his head, "I don't want to hear it. If you're about to say what I think you're about to say then I don't want to hear it, I've heard it enough times since we've been friends."

"Then don't hear it Luke," Hailey struggles out of Lucas' embrace, "but I have to go, the doctor wants me to check myself into a the hospital as soon as I can get things together."

Lucas helps Hailey up and gently cups her face, "Hailes, no."

Hailey nods through her tears, "I saw the doctor two days ago, they did some lab work."

"Hailey..."

"Lucas stop," Hailey pulls away from Lucas completely forcing air in out of her lungs. "Stop. Just stop. I just can't handle this right now, I can't handle you losing it."

Lucas nods, "okay, what do you want me to do?"

"I..." Hailey shakes her head in attempt to clear her thoughts. "I don't know what to do, I can't think."

"Well, you need a bag, right? Clothes and stuff?"

Hailey nods, "yeah."

"Okay," Lucas nods and leads Hailey over to the couch, "you wait here, I'll pull something together for you." Hailey nods mutely, pulling her knees to her chest again, crying. Lucas appears minutes later with a small bag he must have found in Nathan's closet, "anything else?"

"Just my insurance card, it's in my purse." Hailey murmurs.

"Okay, are you ready to go? We'll call Nate on the way to the hospital."

"We're not calling Nathan," Hailey's voice has started to sound more normal.

"Hailes, he's your husband you have to call him."

"No," Hailey shakes her head. "After what he did, no."

"Hailey it's not what you think..."

"Or maybe it's exactly what I think." Hailey counters. "If you're taking me to the hospital then take me, dammit Lucas I'm on my way to the hospital I don't want you defending my husband to me. So if you aren't going to stop trying to convince me of what he did or did not do then I am going to drive myself to the hospital."

Lucas throws his hands up in defense, "okay, sorry Hailes."

The hospital isn't far from Hailey's apartment but the silence in Lucas' car makes it seem longer than it could possibly be and Lucas finally breaks the silence, unable to bare it any longer. "Hailey I'm so sorry this is happening again."

"Luke, this was supposed to be over, in my past. It wasn't supposed to be a part of who I am anymore." Hailey whispers and Lucas can tell immediately that she's crying.

"It's not part of who you are," Lucas responds fiercely. "It's never been part of who you are, when you were sick you were the same Hailey James just sick. And you'll still be the same Hailey as before except I won't be the only person visiting you in the hospital."

"Five years, Luke, they said after five years I'd be cured of all of this crap. This was supposed to be my last appointment, after this if tests came back positive then I wouldn't have to go through all of this crap again. But here I am going through all this crap again."

"It'll be okay Hailey," Lucas assures, "you'll get treatment and get over it again, just like last time."

"Luke, I'm scared, I don't want to have cancer."

Lucas takes one hand off of the steering wheel and grips Hailey's hand, "I know Hailes, I know."

* * *

"Ms. James," Hailey's oncologist walks into the hospital room almost as soon as she's settled into the bed. "Will your parents be coming in soon, so we can discuss your treatment options?"

"My parents aren't coming," Hailey responds. "Or at least not right away, they are on the other side of the country, I think."

"You think?" Dr. Hanson asks, "you are a minor and I can't discuss things with you until they are present."

Hailey shakes her head, "I'm sorry, it must not be in my charts, I was emancipated in May. I got married."

Dr. Hanson flips through Hailey's chart one more time, "I suppose I didn't take notice to the new last Mrs. Scott. So you and Lucas finally got married huh?" Dr. Hanson glances at Lucas who's eyes have gone wide and he shakes his head.

"Actually I married Lucas' brother, Nathan," Hailey explains, her heart nearly breaking at the mention of her husband.

"Well congratulations just the same, would you like me to wait for your husband to get here?" Dr. Hanson offers.

Hailey shakes her head, "it's okay. Please just tell me what's going on Dr. Hanson."

"We have to run a few more tests," Dr. Hanson responds, "to make sure that the cancer hasn't spread to other parts of your body."

Hailey bites her lip, "what kind of tests?"

"A chest x-ray, an ultrasound, a CAT scan and a spinal tap." Dr. Hanson sighs at the paled look on Hailey's face, "I know you hate the spinal tap but it has to be done. All of your tests I have scheduled for tomorrow morning so you should probably get your rest tonight."

Hailey nods as the doctor leaves she turns to face Lucas, "Luke, I don't know what to do."

"I'm calling Nathan," Lucas states firmly, "he has to know you're here."

"Luke, no," Hailey shakes her head quickly.

"Hailey he's your husband, he deserves to know the truth, he's worried about you already." Lucas responds firmly picking up the phone from Hailey's bedside table.

"He doesn't know," Hailey's words stop Lucas halfway through dialing Nathan's cell phone.

"What do you mean he doesn't know?" Lucas asks. "You never told him?"

Hailey shakes her head, "and now I don't know how...besides I'm sure he's got some bimbo to hang all over him."

"You mean after the basketball game the other day?" Lucas asks.

"I don't want to talk about it Lucas, I need my rest you heard Dr. Hanson." Hailey rolls over so that her back faces her best friend.

"Okay, I'll be back later," Lucas sighs and walks out of the room just before Hailey bursts into a fresh round of tears.

With hospital sound around her Hailey can't help but be taken back to the last time she was in the hospital, she was just barely 13 and terrified at the thought of having cancer, she'd lost all the people she'd thought were her friends in elementary and middle school with the exception of Lucas. Her parents, who thought of everything as a joke, could barely handle visiting her and for almost a year Hailey's entire life was turned upside down in a battle for her life she nearly lost.

Someone knocking on the door cause Hailey to gasp sharply and brush at her cheeks, turning around she is faced with a friendly looking nurse, "I've got to draw some blood, sweetie."

Hailey nods, "okay."

The nurse nods and then holds up a bag of liquid, "this is some Erythropoietin, it'll help your red blood cells and take it should take care of the anemia you are suffering from and it should make your spinal tap going better tomorrow."

Hailey sniffs and then nods, "okay."

"Do you want me to get you something to help you rest?"

Hailey almost says no but the sounds and smells of the hospital bring back to many memories that she nods, "yes, please."

The nurse nods, "okay, I'll be back with that as soon as I get you set up here."

Hailey nods, closing her eyes and preparing herself for the pain that comes with needles being jabbed into her arms and the wake up call that screams "welcome back to your old life."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Ten minutes after leaving Hailey alone at the hospital Lucas swings his car into the parking lot of Hailey and Nathan's apartment complex, as soon as he had left the hospital he'd checked his cell phone messages only to have a desperate sounding message from Nathan. Getting out of his car Nathan meets Lucas at the front door of his apartment, "she's gone." Nathan's simple statement gives away all of the pain he is experiencing. "Some of her clothes are missing and the bear I gave her for Christmas and I found her ring on the floor of our bedroom."

Lucas had packed the bear for Hailey to find when she got around to unpacking her bag, in the hopes that she would remember how much she actually loved Nathan despite the compromising position she had caught him in only days before. But she hadn't know anything about her removing her wedding ring.

"You know where she is," Nathan reads his half-brother right away. "I have to explain to her what she saw..."

Lucas' eyes narrow, "what, exactly, did she see?"

"Hazel Taylor was all over me at Tim's party last night," Nathan sighs. "And she kissed me...and I may have let the kiss go on to long..."

"Dammit Nate," Lucas swears turning away from his brother. He'd been determined to tell Nathan where Hailey was, but the situation had changed, Hailey had always said that she would never be able to forgive a cheater. And Lucas knew that every deep down fear Hailey had ever had about Nathan and getting married so young had just come true with a five-year-old fear to top it all off.

"Where is she Luke," Nathan asks. "You have to tell me, I have to make her understand that I don't give a rat's ass about Hazel, I want _her_, forever."

"Nathan there's something I have to tell you, you're going to hate it and it's going to be hard," Lucas sighs. "We should sit down."

* * *

When Nathan walks into the hospital his heart nearly stops as he follows Lucas through the maze of corridors that leads to Hailey. "I'm sorry," an older nurse stops Lucas and Nathan as they approach the pediatric oncology ward, "visiting hours are over. You'll have to come back tomorrow to visit your friend, our rules are strict."

"My wife is in there," Nathan's nerves are shot and his anger flares at the nurse.

The nurse shakes her head and laughs lightly, "I'm sorry son, you'll have to come back tomorrow to see your girlfriend."

Nathan walks up to the desk and places both of his hands on the nurses desk and his voice is cold when he speaks, "look it up in your records. I am Nathan Scott and my wife, Hailey Scott, was admitted no more than an hour ago."

The nurse looks startled as she begins typing on her keyboard she speaks sternly, "you are going to have lower your voice." Within minutes the nurse sighs, "I apologize Mr. Scott, you are free to see your wife, but your friend is going to have to come back later."

"He's my..." Nathan begins to protest but Lucas shakes his head.

"Don't worry about it Nathan, Hailes is gonna be pretty pissed at me anyway, just go see your wife."

Nathan nods and taking a deep breath he walks toward the room the nurse has just pointed to, Nathan pauses at the door preparing himself, he doesn't know whether Hailey is going to scream or cry but either way Nathan knows he needs to be ready to be strong for her no matter what. The sight that greets him when he walks in takes Nathan by surprise, he had expected Hailey to be many things, asleep wasn't one of them. Walking over to her bed Nathan sits down in the chair available there and takes Hailey's hand, a bruise is forming on the top of her hand where they have some sort of an IV inserted into a vein on the top of her hand.

Gently Nathan kisses the large bruise before his gaze moves to Hailey's face, ever since they had been married Nathan had spent hours just watching her sleep. Usually just staring at her relaxed him, put him at peace with the world, but now her pale skin tells stories of the secret that's been between them and the reality of how sick Hailey actually was.

With the hand that's not gently holding Hailey's Nathan brushes a lock of her beautiful hair out of her face and begins to pour his heart out to his sleeping wife, "Hailey, baby, I'm so sorry for what happened and I know what you must be thinking but it's not true...I made you a promise a year and a half ago and my feelings haven't changed since then. I just need you to forgive me so that I can be here for you, and I will be here for you. I know I don't deserve you or your forgiveness but whether you forgive me or not I am going to be here for you every step of the way. I'm not going anywhere." It isn't until Nathan is done speaking that he succumbs to the tears that have been threatening since his eyes first settled on Hailey's face and resting his forehead on the bed Nathan let himself cry and pray that Hailey would recover quickly.

* * *

When Hailey woke the next morning she found Nathan in that exact position, "Na..." Hailey stops, one of the medications they had her on had made her mouth dry, clearing her throat Hailey starts over, "Nathan?"

Nathan looks up quickly, the lack of sleep written across his face, "Hailes."

"What are you doing here?" Hailey's lip trembles just at the sight of him.

"Lucas." Nathan responds simply, not knowing what else to say.

Hailey nods, "okay," she at as much of a loss as Nathan is.

"Hailes, I'm not going anywhere," Nathan finally states as Hailey gathers her own thoughts.

"Nate...I..." Tears stream down Hailey's cheeks.

"And I'm sorry about what you saw with Hazel, I don't want her, I don't give a damn about her..." Nathan gently kisses Hailey on her forehead, "you are the only one I want."

Hailey wraps her arms around Nathan, "Nate, I'm so scared."

"Shhh," Nathan gently strokes Hailey's hair, "we'll figure this out, alright? Everything will be fine. We'll just do whatever the doctors tells us we need to do, okay?"

"What if it's not enough, sometimes you can try everything and it's still not enough. It almost wasn't enough last time."

"We're going to get through this," Nathan states fiercely, "together."

"I'm sorry to interrupt but Mrs. Scott you've got your tests this morning," a candy striper steps into Hailey's room.

"Shouldn't she eat something?" Nathan asks.

"It's better if she has the spinal tap on an empty stomach," the candy-striper responds with a shake of her head. "She'll be back in an hour and a half to two hours, you should go home and get some rest."

Nathan shakes his head, "I'll wait here."

As Hailey situates herself in the wheelchair that the candy-striper had brought she shakes her head, "go home Nate."

"But..."

"Could you call my parents?" Hailey asks, "they need to know. And maybe Brooke and PEyton, I don't think I can tell them."

"I could do that from the phone," Nathan gestures to the phone sitting on Hailey's bedside table.

"Nate...please...you need to get rest. Get some rest and then come back after lunch, because I'm not going to be able to visit anyway right after my tap."

"But Hailey..."

"Nathan please..." Hailey snaps.

"Okay fine," Nathan consents, "but I'm going to be here when you get back from your tests."

Hailey sighs, "fine."

"I love you," Nathan kisses Hailey gently.

Hailey sniffs, "I love you too."

"You guys are really married?" The candy-striper asks Hailey as she pushes her in the wheelchair.

"It'll be two years in May," Hailey responds.

"But you're so young..." The girl gasps, "I mean you're on the pediatric ward so that means..."

"I'm 17, I'll be 18 next one," Hailey supplies for the girl.

"Wow," the girl murmurs. "I'm 16 and I can't imagine marrying my boyfriend...unless...I mean..."

"We don't have a baby," Hailey saves the girl the embarrassment of asking the question that most people asked when they found out they were married so young.

"So why'd you get married?"

This question always followed the statement that Hailey didn't have a child at home, "because we are in love and we wanted to be together for the rest of our lives and didn't see the point of waiting until we graduated from high school. We both knew that our feelings weren't going to change..."

"Wow..." The girl lets out another breath, "that's so romantic. And you guys are still so in love. That much is obvious."

"Yeah," Hailey breathes, "we are."

* * *

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Nathan asks when he pushes open his apartment door to find Brooke, Peyton, Jake and Tim sitting on his couch.

"We're here for an intervention," Brooke states. "We aren't letting some stupid whore break up you and Hailey."

"What?" Nathan asks.

"Hazel was bragging around school that you and she were making out at Tim's party." Peyton explains, "so since neither one of you were in school yesterday we thought we'd come over here after school and see what was going on. But neither one of you were here and some things were missing..."

"So we've been waiting here ever since," Jake looks exhausted and Nathan knows he's really only there for Peyton.

Tim nods along with the rest as Nathan lets out a long breath of air, "guys there's something you need to know..."

"Oh my God," Brooke interrupts, "Tutor Girl really is pregnant this time."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

AN Thank you Jasmine to point out that I've been spelling Haley's name wrong...so I've corrected it in this chapter!

* * *

Nathan stares at his group of friends that sit in his living room in a shocked silence, Nathan had known most of these people his entire life and he'd never known them to be shocked into silence. "You're...you're kidding me right?" Brooke stutters.

Nathan shakes his head, "no. Um, she had it when she was in middle school and it's recurring." Nathan quickly regains his composure so he can explain things fully to his and Haley's best friends, "she had a type of cancer called Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia and it's very serious. They are running a bunch of tests on her right now to see just how serious and if it's spread out of her blood system."

"Then what?" Peyton murmurs.

"Then they find out how to treat it," Nathan responds, "and we go from there."

"Nate..." Tim begins but he can't come up with any other words to support his best friend.

Nathan shakes his head, "I don't want you guys offering your condolences. Hales and I, we're gonna get enough of that from everyone else, we just want you to be our friends."

"Of course," Jake agrees and everyone nods with him.

"Listen, I've got to get a shower and get some sleep so I can get back to the hospital before Haley gets out of her tests...and I've got to call her parents...so if you guys don't mind..."

"We'll clear out," Tim promises.

"Oh Nathan," Brooke stops Nathan on his way to the shower.

"Yeah Brooke?"

"I know it doesn't seem important now, but we took care of the Hazel situation, she won't be coming anywhere near you in the future."

Nathan nods subtly, "thanks."

The group makes their way silently through the apartment and are stepping outside just as Lucas walks up, "Luke..." Tim greets softly.

"What are you guys doing here?" Lucas asks looking across the group.

"We came to see Nate," Tim responds, the silently nominated spokesperson of the group. "He explained about Haley...Man it sucks, is there anything we can do?"

Lucas thinks for a second, "actually yeah. Haley hates being alone in the hospital, but she hates being coddled if you could..."

Brooke nods shortly, "of course, we'll hang with her, that's not even a question."

Lucas nods, "thanks. Listen, I've got to talk to Nathan, I'll talk to you guys later."

* * *

"Hey guys," Karen sadly greets the solemn group when they shuffle into her café not to long after leaving Nathan

The group barely acknowledges Lucas' mother as they take the table they tended to frequent several times a week and they sit in their silence until Karen comes over juggling a tray with their four favorite drinks. "Everything's on the house today guys, just give me a shout if you need anything. Even if it's just to talk."

Brooke bites her lip and looks down as, once again, Tim speaks for the group, "thanks Karen."

"Brooke, you okay?" Karen questions brunette fighting back tears.

Brooke shakes her head, "I just keep thinking that Haley's going to pop up and say, just kidding guys, it's just a joke I don't have cancer, it's just an April Fools joke a couple months early. It was Nathan's idea, the idiot."

"Listen to me, all of you," Karen's words are gentle but serious. "She's not dead, she's sick and it sucks, it majorly sucks. But you guys have to stop acting like she's dead, she's not and she beat this before and she will again...You just have to keep that in mind."

"Thanks Karen," Peyton nods and smiles weakly at the older woman just as Deb Scott walks in.

"What happened?" Deb asks taking one look at the group and her thoughts immediately go to her son she rarely had contact with. "Did something happen to Nathan?"

The group exchanges glances and finally Karen speaks up, "Deb, why don't we talk in the back?" Karen suggests.

Deb nods nervously, "okay."

"Karen's right you guys," Peyton states once the women have disappeared into the back of the café. "Haley is our friend and we have to treat her like we normally do, or it's going to drive her crazy."

"So we're what just supposed to walk into her hospital and be all normal?" Brooke demands. "I can't do that."

Jake sighs, "come on Brooke."

"No," Brooke snaps, "I can't just go along pretending nothing's wrong with Haley...she has cancer and people die from cancer...I'm sorry I just can't do it..." With her words Brooke jumps up from the table and storms out of the café.

Peyton sighs when the door slams shut behind her and then explains to Jake and Tim, "her grandmother died, when she was little, of cancer. She was an amazing woman and she was Brooke's entire world for the first 10 years of her life, when she died it really hit her hard and the Brooke you see now is a result of that. I should go after her."

Jake grabs Peyton's hand, "let her calm, she's probably has to get her thoughts together."

* * *

Brooke beats her steering wheel with the palm of her hand, she couldn't go through this shit again...sit around and watch someone she cared about suffer painfully and then die. Haley was a good friend, one of Brooke's best, but Brooke couldn't stand to sit around and watch her suffer.

* * *

"You have a visitor," the candy striper, who's name Haley had learned to be Tess, states as she wheels Haley back to her room. "Are you up for visitors?"

Haley who had been resisting the urge to vomit, a side effect from the painful spinal tap, for the entire ride questions, "who is it?"

"I'm not sure," Tess responds. "The head nurse just wanted me to let you know that you have a visitor."

"You look like shit," Brooke's words come before she appears walking out of the bathroom.

"Thanks Brooke," Haley snaps.

"So can I see the baby?" Brooke asks.

"I thought you said you didn't have a baby?" Tess asks.

"I don't," Haley can't help but smile at Brooke. "How many times do I have to tell you Nathan and I didn't get married because we're pregnant?"

"I'll let you guys visit," Tess makes her exit.

"Well I guess it's a good thing that you didn't just have a baby," Brooke states, "because it's so not socially acceptable to look bad after having a baby anymore...So how do you feel?"

"Like I look, which apparently is like shit." Haley sighs.

"Well it's a good thing I'm here then, huh?" Brooke asks.

"Umm...Yes?"

"Of course it's yes, I come with gifts." Brooke picks up the bag that she'd had tucked behind the door.

"Gifts?" Haley asks perking up, her mind completely taken away from her pain and sick feeling.

"Yup," Brooke nods grabbing the large shopping bag. "Firstly I raided my home theater and I bring you the first season of Beverly Hills 90210 on DVD because the unrealistic-ness is entertaining to watch, plus it takes your mind off reality."

Haley wrinkles her nose, "Beverly Hills though?"

"I have the Brady Bunch too, would you like that better?" Brooke questions.

"Nah, I'll stick with the first one..." Haley responds. "So what else is in there?"

"Magazines," Brooke pulls out a stack of magazines probably six inches thick and drops them on the bed. "I figured you'd have fun making fun of the models. Plus CD's I stole from your collection at the apartment," Brooke lays those on the bed.

"Thanks Brooke."

"I'm not done," it's Brooke's turn to wrinkle her nose, "I brought books."

"Brooke that's really sweet," Haley is obviously touched, "but..."

"You probably won't feel up to reading most the time because the chemo makes you so sick, I know." Brooke nods and then shrugs, "so I figured I could read to you. You've spent so much time tutoring me in school I figured it's my turn."

"Brooke that's really amazing..." Haley begins before Brooke cuts her off.

"Don't try to thank me...cause we both know that as soon as you're better you're back to being Tutor Girl..."


End file.
